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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · mate · stick · file · drill · fine · capital · lean

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mate — a friend
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fine — all right
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. file — a line of people
  8. drill — army training
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mate — to breed
  12. file — a document
  13. capital — money
  14. drill — a practice
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lean — to bend
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com